The beaches of Padang Bai

May 5 & 6, 2018
We of course had the Padang Bai beach right outside our front door. It wasn't the best one to just hang out on since it was kind of a working beach. All filled with funny little water skimmer boats.

There was also a ferry dock that had horns blaring at every hour of the day and night as boats came and went.

Each day after diving we had the afternoon free to spend as we wished. In several cases this meant visiting a nearby beach.

The view from the hill back down to the beach

The first one we went to, Blue Lagoon beach was just up the hill at the end of the main road in town and down the other side.

It was a coral beach instead of sand once the waves started, so a little rougher walking to get out into the water. We stayed dry at this one.

There were some food stalls up along the hill behind the beach

Coral toes

The next day we journeyed to the beach to the south, Bias Tugel.  It involved a bit of a hike along a dirt road leading out of town.

15 minutes later we found our way to the water in a beautiful little cove.

It was beautiful sand and nice waves, so Shay of course dove in.

Too cute of a picture not to capture

I had myself a beer on the sand and just watched her swim.

Bintang is the big local beer

There was a constant stream of boats and ferrys leaving from the Padang Bai docks headed for the Gili Islands and Lombok to the east.

We were treated to a lovely sunset back over the trees

And had a selfie evolution happen.

And I'll finish with a plea to anyone reading to please cut down on your plastic use. The beaches of the PNW don't have the currents that bring sea trash to them, but these beaches do, and it's a huge problem.

Shay and I did 20 minutes of beach cleanup, and picked up countless plastic cups, straws, disposable forks and spoons and other trash.

Just like taking a reusable bag to the grocery store is a learned habit, asking for no straw in your drink can be one too. Or carrying a spoon in your bag so you don't need to use a plastic one. Take your own mug for coffee. You may think you're only one person, but it still makes a difference, and maybe others will follow your example.